Exposure of Corruption at Joburg School by MEC

The former school governing body (SGB) and principal of Glenvista High School in Johannesburg squandered millions of rands in school funds on airline tickets and payments for timeshares and a holiday home, a forensic investigation released by Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi revealed on Monday. 

 

The governing body implicated was in charge of affairs at the school between 2012 and mid 2014, said Lesufi. 

Lesufi said that this was the most corrupt school he had come across, adding that he had instructed the head of department to check whether this was part of a trend or not, “especially at the former model C schools because this could be the tip of an iceberg”. He said they were targeting former Model C schools because of the amount of money involved. Model C schools are generally better funded than public schools. 

Lesufi said he did not have the exact amount squandered at Glenvista High School, but it “ran into millions”. He said the public school, established in 1988, had an annual budget of R24 million.

The investigation was launched after whistle-blowers alerted authorities in 2013 to alleged corruption and financial mismanagement at the school. The department appointed forensic auditors KPMG to probe the allegations. 

According to the report, the former governing body operated more than one bank account without approval from the department, as per the SA Schools Act. “It was illegal to do so, the last time we checked there were eight different accounts for the school,” said Lesufi.

Payments made on behalf of the former principal were made using school funds. These included levies for his holiday home, installation of a carport and hunting fees. Timeshares donated to the school were not used for fundraising as intended. Instead they were auctioned to the staff at rates that did not cover the levies the school was paying for them. 

Air-travel tickets were bought for the principal’s personal use and were not for educational purposes. The investigation found that the former chairperson of the governing body instructed the purchase of the tickets, without approval of the rest of the SGB. The expenditure was falsely stated as part of the school’s sports awards expenditure.

The former principal also claimed money for lessons he did not provide. “They abused the law, which allows teachers to claim for providing extra lessons, to benefit themselves. The former principal claimed money for classes he did not attend,” said Lesufi. 

The appointment of teachers and coaches at the school was also riddled with irregularities. The report found that there was no recruitment policy in place at the school. Teachers were appointed without checking their backgrounds and whether they were qualified for the posts.

“The former deputy principal was responsible for the appointment of coaches, and appointed his daughter as a coach. He failed to recuse himself from the process and avoid possible conflict of interest. The appointments of coaches were not approved by the SGB,” said Lesufi.

The department had been in contact with the Hawks to arrest those implicated, he said. “We want those implicated to pay back the money. We are told that the implicated SGB chairperson now lives in KwaZulu-Natal … we are going to lay charges.” 

He said the former principal who had since left the school and the SGB chairperson would be located and brought before the law. The former school governing body (SGB) and principal of Glenvista High School in Johannesburg squandered millions of rands in school funds on airline tickets and payments for timeshares and a holiday home, a forensic investigation released by Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi revealed on Monday. 

The governing body implicated was in charge of affairs at the school between 2012 and mid 2014, said Lesufi.

Lesufi said that this was the most corrupt school he had come across, adding that he had instructed the head of department to check whether this was part of a trend or not, “especially at the former model C schools because this could be the tip of an iceberg”. He said they were targeting former Model C schools because of the amount of money involved. Model C schools are generally better funded than public schools.

Lesufi said he did not have the exact amount squandered at Glenvista High School, but it “ran into millions”. He said the public school, established in 1988, had an annual budget of R24 million.

The investigation was launched after whistle-blowers alerted authorities in 2013 to alleged corruption and financial mismanagement at the school. The department appointed forensic auditors KPMG to probe the allegations. 

According to the report, the former governing body operated more than one bank account without approval from the department, as per the SA Schools Act. “It was illegal to do so, the last time we checked there were eight different accounts for the school,” said Lesufi.

Payments made on behalf of the former principal were made using school funds. These included levies for his holiday home, installation of a carport and hunting fees. Timeshares donated to the school were not used for fundraising as intended. Instead they were auctioned to the staff at rates that did not cover the levies the school was paying for them.

Air-travel tickets were bought for the principal’s personal use and were not for educational purposes. The investigation found that the former chairperson of the governing body instructed the purchase of the tickets, without approval of the rest of the SGB. The expenditure was falsely stated as part of the school’s sports awards expenditure. 

The former principal also claimed money for lessons he did not provide. “They abused the law, which allows teachers to claim for providing extra lessons, to benefit themselves. The former principal claimed money for classes he did not attend,” said Lesufi.

The appointment of teachers and coaches at the school was also riddled with irregularities. The report found that there was no recruitment policy in place at the school. Teachers were appointed without checking their backgrounds and whether they were qualified for the posts. 

“The former deputy principal was responsible for the appointment of coaches, and appointed his daughter as a coach. He failed to recuse himself from the process and avoid possible conflict of interest. The appointments of coaches were not approved by the SGB,” said Lesufi.

The department had been in contact with the Hawks to arrest those implicated, he said. “We want those implicated to pay back the money. We are told that the implicated SGB chairperson now lives in KwaZulu-Natal … we are going to lay charges.”

He said the former principal who had since left the school and the SGB chairperson would be located and brought before the law.